


home is where your team of unlikely friends is

by gortysproject



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Also especially spoilers for choosing Felix in your Vault Hunting team, Spoilers for Episode 5 TFTB
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 23:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6774163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gortysproject/pseuds/gortysproject
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fiona tells Rhys about the money. Rhys fills in the blanks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	home is where your team of unlikely friends is

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a really quick drabble about Rhys and Fiona talking about the 9 million dollars. Sasha wants to leave Pandora, Fiona doesn't, Rhys is pouty and August is really unhelpful. Find me at gortisproject.tumblr.com if you want c:

_“Nine million dollars.”_

The sheer awe in his voice is enough to crack Fiona’s serious expression, and a somewhat-giddy grin tugs at her lips. “Yeah,” she replies, picking up her drink before Rhys can see how happy she is. The alcohol burns her throat. “We’re pretty damn rich.” 

The Purple Skag is quiet tonight, but they still tuck themselves in the corner of a darkened booth to talk; Rhys is uncomfortable being out in the open. Fiona knows that. He won’t tell her what happened after Helios crashed in any detail, but she figures he might have met some unhappy people during the time they were apart. Still, she lets him have his way. It’s easier – he doesn’t kick up a fuss. 

August is back behind the bar, less animated than the last time she’d seen him in that position. Someone else is wiping down the tables, a pretty blonde that no doubt replaced Sasha. Two strangers are up at the bar, but other than that, it’s empty. Fiona can’t find it in herself to be surprised – the entirety of Pandora has been quiet, subdued, for these last few months. There’s no space station in the sky to watch over everyone, and nobody can figure out whether that’s a good thing or not. Even Rhys seems conflicted still. 

Speaking of, he’s currently staring at her with his jaw hanging open. Fiona reaches over the table to tap his chin, pushing his mouth closed with a chuckle. “Yeah, I know, big news. Even for a corporate jackass like you.” 

After blinking twice, a smirk of its own sits on Rhys’ lips. “Corporate jackass? That’s new.” 

“What can I say? You’re going from company to company. First Hyperion, now Atlas… next, we’ll find out you’ve been running Tediore behind the scenes, too.” 

“Tediore? Really?” He pulls an expression of disgust, nose wrinkling. But something snaps him out again and he lifts his metal arm up to point at her. “ _You_ should have told me about this. Nine million dollars? That’s – that’s a _huge_ amount of money, Fi! I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.” 

She snorts. “What was I supposed to do? There wasn’t really a good time. I found out I had the money, like, right before we entered a battle with a Vault Monster, there was more on my mind. And then Sasha was hurt, and then we entered the Vault, and nine million dollars doesn’t exactly seem like a big deal when you’re fulfilling the ultimate Pandoran dream.” 

“That was two months ago.” Rhys is pouting. He’s actually _pouting._

Fiona glances away. “We’ve all been busy, Rhys. We opened a Vault. You’re rebuilding a company. I’m –” She can’t say she’s been Vault Hunting, because there haven’t been any Vaults _around_. “Sasha and I are working on what to do now.” 

This changes Rhys’ expression completely. He seems to pause, and then… deflate. Look to the table. Lower his arm. Raised eyebrows now furrow together in a frown. “Oh, yeah. You’re, um. Yeah.” 

She stares at him for a moment, trying to figure out what’s wrong, but before she can ask a shadow is looming over their already dimly-lit booth. Both their heads snap up to the newcomer. August. 

“Wow, bad timing?” he asks, setting down two new drinks. Rhys shakes his head too quickly. 

“No, I’m, we’re – just catching up. It’s been a while.” 

August clearly doesn’t care that much, with his muttered, “Whatever,” but before he leaves he turns to Fiona and asks, “You told him about the dough yet?” 

Rhys turns back to Fiona, affronted. “You told _August_ before me?” 

Fiona glares at August. August seems pleased with himself, and turns to leave before Fiona can call him an asshole. She’s left to look back at Rhys and seem as apologetic as possible. “To be fair, I didn’t tell him. Sasha did.” 

There’s no response, so she nudges her empty cup aside and picks up the next one. Fiona had never been a drinker, but something tells her she’ll need the extra kick to get through tonight. 

Rhys is quiet for a long moment. “So, you and Sasha. Uh.” There’s a moment of silence, his eyes fixed back on the table, before he straightens his back and tries for a smile. 

“Picked a place to head off to, yet?” 

“Picked a – what?” 

“You know, a planet. That isn’t Pandora. Nine million’s more than enough to get you set up on one of the Edens – okay, maybe not Eden-3 – hell, Fiona, you could go for _Dionysus_. I bet Sasha wants to go to Artemis. Everyone’s crazy about good quality guns on Artemis. Or there’s –” 

“Rhys, _what_?” 

He stops listing planet names, and his smile slips. He almost looks confused. “You two have enough money to get to most planets in the galaxy. And – that was what you said, right? You always wanted to get away from Pandora.” His flesh hand rubs at the back of his neck, fingers skimming under the loose shirt collar. 

It takes a moment to register what he’s saying, but when she does, it takes a moment longer to figure out how to respond. Helpfully, she manages, “Oh.” 

It isn’t like she hasn’t spoken to Sasha about this. Having a pocket full of more money than she’s ever seen in her life and a sister whose sole dream was to escape Pandora for as long as she’s known it was possible would inevitably lead to that conversation. Fiona knew Sasha would be desperate to get away, but she also knew they couldn’t just _leave_. They had too much they were leaving behind. 

Example A is sat in front of her, trying his best to seem happy for them and failing miserably. 

“It’s not just Rhys,” she’d replied harshly, when under Sasha’s judgemental gaze. “There’s – Vaughn, and Athena and Janey, and – uh, August? And Cassius, and Gortys and LB, uh…” 

Sasha had continued judging. “One? You don’t give a varkid’s wing about August and Cassius. Two? Gortys and LB aren’t even on Pandora right now. They’re still exploring Elpis –” 

“Which is close to Pandora!” 

“—and Vaughn already lives too far away to visit, and Athena and Janey probably aren’t gonna be around for long either!” 

That had been around a month back. Needless to say, they hadn’t talked about it since. Fiona knows Sasha is itching to leave; the only thing holding them back is _her_. 

Rhys is still looking pathetic opposite her, and it’s the same weird type of heartbreaking as having to kill a baby skag that’s attempting to kill you. Fiona hides behind her drink for a moment, before sighing, setting it down and swallowing uncomfortably. “Rhys,” she starts, conscience heavy, but he interrupts. 

“This is why you didn’t tell me about the money, isn’t it.” It’s not a question and she doesn’t give an answer, merely looking down at her chipped nail polish where her hands sit on the table. “That’s – I mean, Fiona, that’s awesome, you guys deserve to get out of here, you’ve been waiting your whole –” 

“I don’t want to go,” she replies, in a moment of honesty she’ll likely regret. 

Their eyes meet over the table, and his are wide, surprised. Fiona glances away first, but there’s something warm in her stomach about the open relief in Rhys’ gaze. 

The silence stretches on between them for a long moment. 

“You… want another drink?” Rhys asks eventually, and there’s something different in his voice. Something that even sounds like hope. 

Fiona hesitates, and nods.


End file.
